


Knight to King's Bishop Four

by Tarlan



Category: Endgame (TV)
Genre: M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-09
Updated: 2011-05-09
Packaged: 2017-10-19 04:40:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/197006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arkady uncovers a secret Sam would have preferred to leave hidden.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Knight to King's Bishop Four

**Author's Note:**

> Written for MMoM 2011 Day 9

Sam had studied all the moves of the grandmasters, fascinated by the variables that made each game unique. He saw the mistakes of lesser chess players, trying to mimic the masters and failing to see the traps until forced to tip their king in defeat. Arkady Balagan was the greatest of the grandmasters, with an incisive mind that saw too many moves ahead for Sam to contemplate in more than just the game before him.

Sam moved his knight, aware that he was making a defensive move, trying to extricate himself from the inevitable but refusing to give in. A momentary distraction or a rare mistake could change the whole game in his favor. Blue eyes mocked him and Sam groaned when Arkady made a move that left only the inevitable--Sam's defeat. He hadn't seen it and yet it was all there in front of him.

"You are thinking too hard with the wrong head," Arkady stated bluntly, tapping Sam's forehead sharply with two fingers and making Sam flinch back in surprise.

"I missed the opening you had left for your bishop."

"Exactly. A rookie mistake. I expect better of you, Sam." Arkady leaned back against his plush sofa, a glass of the finest Russian vodka in his hand. "Something bothers you."

Sam shrugged because it was not something he wanted to talk about.

"Girl trouble?"

"No. Not--"

"Boy trouble!" It wasn't a question.

Sam froze in shock before offering a sickly smile. He should have known Arkady would figure it out quickly, and his _deer-in-the-headlights_ reaction had more or less confirmed it anyway. But Arkady merely smiled in that slightly mocking way.

"You don't seem that bothered."

"And why should I be? It is what it is." Arkady shrugged, unperturbed by Sam's admittance of being bisexual.

Sam sighed, knowing he should have expected nothing less after months of helping Arkady out on strange cases occurring around the hotel. It had given him a chance to see Arkady use his mind in the real world rather than just on the chess board, plus his offers to help had been repaid with chess lessons that he could never have afforded otherwise. It had also given Sam a chance to be more than just another face across the chess board, more than just another opponent to be defeated and then forgotten.

The latest case had concerned the missing son of the Huxley Hotel's owner, and with his usual bluntness, Arkady had spilled a family's secrets and put true love back on course. Everyone was happy, and Arkady had an additional six months paid for by Mrs. Huxley, so even he was happy for once. Arkady indicated to towards the bottle and another glass but Sam shook his head. The last thing he needed right now was his mental faculties dulled by alcohol, though a few drinks seemed to have little effect on Arkady.

"So. Is it someone at school?"

Sam grimaced. Calling it school made him sound like a child but Sam anything but a child. "No. It's no one on campus."

"Then someone you have met in your evening job." He gave a quick smile. "Your _other_ job."

Sam smiled because Arkady would call him at any time of day or night, asking for assistance that sometimes took hours from his study schedule--or sleep. On one memorable occasion, the call had interrupted a personal moment that Sam had been sharing with his right hand, with the sound of Arkady's voice, whispering seductively in his ear, almost sending him over the edge. It had taken vital seconds to get himself under control, but Arkady had never mentioned it--not then or since.

"No."

"Then it is someone here at the Huxley."

Sam closed his eyes as his face heated with embarrassment, aware that Arkady was like a dog with a bone and would keep on asking until he knew the answer. "It's you, okay?"

"I thought so."

"If you thought so then why did you ask...?" Sam trailed off, realizing it was a stupid question. Arkady didn't mind working with supposition, second guessing his opponent, but he liked it more when his guesses turned out to be correct. The problem was, Sam didn't know where this left him. He had the biggest crush on a man who was still grieving after the death of his fiancee, and that made things very awkward.

Arkady shrugged again. "If I was you then I would have a big crush on me also." He gave a crooked smile and, as easy as that, Sam felt the tension slip away. For all his presumed arrogance and bluntness, Arkady was also warm-hearted and generous, and Sam should never have feared his secret becoming full knowledge.

"Shall we play again?"

"Yeah." Sam leaned over and began setting up the pieces once more, and when Arkady's hand brushed against his deliberately, he accepted it as a generous gift, knowing it was a promise. One day, Arkady would put Rosemary's ghost to rest and then, if Sam was lucky, he would reach out to him in more than just friendship.

END


End file.
